Large Scale Central

Mi Americano

General Discussion
#1

I’ve never been one to follow the crowd…so…I went away from the Mad Rush for the new Bachmann K, and bought us a NOS Bachmann American-Undecorated.

I have longed for one of these early engines for a while and after seeing what Kevin Strong did with one in the latest GR Mag, I took the plunge…(still yet to receive the mag, but have enjoyed the pics online!). I plan on installing the RCS Elite and Sierra in due time. I hope to find some AC/Delton Hoppers and a few Bachmann Wood Ore Cars at the SElSTS to round out a prototypical looking consist. I was not really surprised at the fine detail of this engine and packed it away pretty quickly to protect it from my Lukes’ prying little digits. More than likely this will be “my” engine…the boys have theirs and I hope to use this for some self-lessons in photography and weathering. Have a Great Day! Cale

#2

I’ve been eye-ballin the Eureka version for quite a while. Doubt if I’d ever run it since it wouldn’t fit my era, but ya never know, It’s such a cute lookin thing…:wink:

#3

Wish I could agree. I like everything about the American type except the driver arrangement. It just looks odd to me. Perhaps that’s because I never saw (or noticed) examples of the earlier types until I was older. Childhood memories of real steam are non-existent (Dad was into Airplanes) and model trains were mostly Hudson’s and the like.

Nice loco though Cale, and yes I love Kevin’s TVRR version. I think maybe his simple change of moving the air pump down tends to fill that large empty space between the drivers. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Jon

#4

Hey Jon…I felt the same way for a long time and couldn’t figure out why…then; like you I realized it was the drivers…I too had seen many 4-4-0’s with the Big drivers…like the General and others…It took me a while of studying the engine and it’s roots to discover that the big wheels were added over time…It really didn’t help that the Americans HLW producess have bigger wheels…those are nice looking too…in the end though…it is a pretty piece…and the Eureka-WOW what a looker!

As an aside…as I was watching the enclosed VHS tape, I kept thinking to myself…that GRR looks familiar…It should, It is the Woodland RWY of Jim Strong! What a gorgeous layout!

cale